Best of the Best Page 3

Dr. Eric Prince uses a snooter here, which will enable him to safely release this tagged billfish.

Dr. Eric Prince boasts a 30-plusyear
career as a marine scientist. He’s
been the western Atlantic
coordinator of ICCAT’s billfish
research program since 1987 and
soon after he took the post
conducted the first study on the
stock condition of marlin. This led to
the identification of the maximum
sustainable yield for marlin, a
realization of how far marlin
numbers had slumped, and the first
international management
restrictions on marlin.

His landmark research on using
circle hooks to reduce hooking
injuries in billfish dates back to 1999,
and some refer to Prince as the father
of the circle-hook revolution.

In 1996, he and Dr. Barbara Block
started the first archival tagging
program for bluefin tuna off
Hatteras, North Carolina, which
helped identify two distinct breeding stocks of tuna in the Gulf
of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea. Prince’s long career has been
a huge benefit to big-game fishermen everywhere, and his
lectures, published papers, and slide presentations have been a
strong influence on the movement to protect billfish. His
attendance at ICCAT meetings over the years has alone been
responsible for reducing overexploitation of marlin.

CAPT. FRANK “SKIP” SMITH

Capt. Frank Smith has helped his crew set 39 billfish records.

Starting out on his dad’s drift boat when he was young, Skip
Smith went on to become a commercial fisherman and
eventually spent 11 seasons as captain of the world-famous
mothership, Madam and her game boat, Hooker, both owned
by Jerry and Deborah Dunaway. With him at the helm of
Hooker, the crew set 39 billfish records, the most in history.
Smith has fished from the Great Barrier Reef to Boston and
Tahiti to the African Coast. Most recently he helped an angler
capture the Women’s World Record 128-pound swordfish,
which was caught on 8-pound line.

A member of The Billfish Foundation board of directors,
Smith has attended fishery-management hearings in
Washington D.C. and offered his views on conservation issues.
He willingly shares his knowledge in club meetings, guest
appearances, and magazine articles. He is the only fisherman in
the Broward County Sports Hall of Fame.

Today, Smith runs a marine insurance company in Pompano
Beach, Florida, but remains very involved in tournaments; he
started the Custom Boat Shootout, which raises money for
causes such as breast cancer research, the Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society, and more. He also trains tournament
observers and is involved in a local kids tournament and the
Fort Lauderdale Billfish tourney.

JOAN VERNON

What does Joan Vernon do on her tournament days off? Why, she goes fishing, of course.

Joan Vernon has long been
involved with The Billfish
Foundation (TBF) and currently
serves as its chairman. She is past
president of the International
Women’s Fishing Association and
is highly skilled at organizing
tournaments.

Her Presidential Challenge of
Central America tournament
series, which involves Panama,
Guatemala, and Costa Rica, raises
funds to benefit conservation and
tourism. She has also organized
several conservation symposia in
Central America. Vernon was one
of the leaders in the effort to
require circle hooks for billfish in
Costa Rica and led the movement
to convert the Miami Billfish
Tournament from a kill event to
100-percent release.

Vernon’s also an accomplished light-tackle billfish angler and
can often be found competing in the IGFA Offshore
Championship, Women’s Master Angler Tournament, and
many others. She has received IGFA’s Conservation
Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the
American Sportfishing Association, and the Conservation
Award from Miami Rod and Reel Club.

One of Vernon’s recent efforts was forming the Adopt-
A-Billfish program, which raises funds to place satellite tags
in billfish. The resulting data is used to advance the
scientific knowledge needed for proper sailfish and marlin
management.

CAPT. PETER B. WRIGHT

Capt. Peter B. Wright has caught 77 grander-size black marlin.

Capt. Peter B. Wright has caught more grander black
marlin than any captain in history (77 weighed), and he’s
released a lot more, too. Wright once caught five blacks
of more than 1,000 lbs in a 26-hour span. He shares his
knowledge by writing articles, lecturing, appearing at
tackle shows, and hosting of the World Class Sportfishing
TV series. Wherever big fish are found, Wright is there.

In 2007 he was inducted into both the Cairns,
Australia, Black Marlin Hall of Fame and the IGFA
Fishing Hall of Fame.

Wright has a bachelor’s degree in biology from
Georgia Tech and also studied marine biology at the
University of Miami. That helps explain why he’s a
strong advocate of circle hooks and tagging—he doesn’t
consider a billfish caught until he gets a tag into it. That
said, he admits he’s not opposed to sportfisherman
occasionally landing a billfish for a record or in a tournament.